.....very good to great sounding recording of this New Orleans via northern NJ Swamp Stomp Show (said with love & affection :) I was at this show and further confirmed by the new Giants box, i found it better than the previous night, maybe the highlight of the box. Though previous night has it's great moments too. And the Sugar Mags on this night, is now my new fave version i measure all others! I had previously found the 89 Freedom Hall Sugar Mags my fave, and had also attended that show. This one is another melodic rhythmic GEM. Jerry locks in as AceHigh4's review describes. and Brent and the drummers, heck everyone, are beasts. Drummers on this recording sound MASSIVE as they were at the show. Also caught on this recording, Jerry is on top playing these sweetly piercing lead lines more so than in other versions and gets more pronounced as the song progresses. As others have said, the Neville Bros band played & sang from the drums segment until the end and they added an extra punch & spice to the proceedings. just an outstanding show. I was way out in the middle of the stadium on the first row of the first tier and everything sounded fantastic. I agree that the "new tunes" were exceptionally played. Jerry guitar picked his face off that night. You could hear him so clearly even as far as we were. When the rain stopped he was very clear sounding & expressive. Mickey was stellar during drums and made up for any issues he had in the 1st set. 1st set may seem a bit off because the rain was also getting onto the stage and on Mickey in particular. The youtube vid of the show bears this out. But by the 2nd set everything & everybody was/were all in synch. ....and how did Mickey and Billy get to sample or do a fantastic improv drum & techno cover based on Jimi Hendrix's "May this be love" (also known as Waterfall as pointed out by UtmostBeast describing the dusborne matrix version of this show). Starting in track 14, first obscurely around 1:50 and sounding almost exactly like it at 2:30 and then goes into a fantastic soulful rhythmic improv, and incorporates the large overhead drums, snare high hat, toms, talking drum, etc....Simply stunning! I remember being so caught up in a drums segment like never before!!! probably the best drums (and bass & midi) & space i have ever heard until this day from all of the boots and releases. Again, the Sugar Mags was excellent! PS Dew was spectacular after the downpour and everyone was chilling in the after glow mist & concert lights that was lingering over the stadium...Jerry up on the big scream singing and strumming. simply perfect soundtrack to the evening by the band and captured in this recording.

I enjoy going through the archive and finding those moments of total bliss that can be found in almost any Dead show. Sure, I have some favorite shows and some are better played than others when looked at as a whole. But, let's face it, it was the transcendent moments we kept coming back for and allowed for the patience we needed when things went askew or just didn't take off. What I really like here are those 2 and a half minutes of jamming during Sugar Magnolia (from about 3:00 to 5:15). My liquid Jerry and the rest of the band locked into a tight groove. The band members playing like a cord of wood being stacked and Jerry, the snake, gliding in and out amongst the freshly chopped logs. As good as it gets, for me. Five Stars for making my morning better.

Oh yeah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF8gSfUSMdE&NR=1

Drove down from CT w/ my best friend and his girlfriend's/ future wife's sister. Had been clean and sober for just over a year. Two days shy of my 19th birthday. Still have the T-shirt and ticket stub. No way that short still fits! I'm remember guys w/ a water ballon slingshot off the back of their pick up shooting WAY across the lot and everyone being friendly. I was reluctant to hop the wall after seeing people literally being tackled. Finally did it once security seemed to calm down. Ended up with the wharf rats along the far wall just off the speakers. Los Lobos, Tennessee Jed, and the storm are still fresh in my mind. I'm afraid the rest is dormant, for the most part. You never forget your first!!! I believe that it isn't a coincidence that so many experienced them LIVE/ FOR THE FIRST TIME at this show.

I'm really surprised none of the reviewers mentioned Morning Dew. It may not be one of the all-timers, but I was totally smoked by it that night, and I'm quite sure it was the highlight of the show. The recording seems to bear me out that this is a really good one.

The 9th was played better,but the energy this night was better...I like the Foolish/little light combo... sloppy but great vibes.....

balls of lightning roll along...

you know you're bound to wind up wet...

fun show...red hot stranger opener...sounds like jerry's guitar goes out of tune on franklin's...musta been the humidity of the jersey swamps...post drums is especially nice--good jams w the nevilles

Yup, the "on cue" lightning during "Music Never Stopped" was unreal. It was perfect. Fun, fun concert out in Jersey. Usual craziness in parking lot, dodging officers of the law dressed up as hippies (?!), locating only other Deadhead in my high school in one of the hallway turns - hey, what's up? - hiding out in emergency stairwell to share reviews. My seat was way too high to try wall-jumping and, 20 years later, don't even remember that. I remember a nutty show influenced by Mother Nature and some surprising tunes, unexpected. And I still have the rain-soaked ticket. Thanks guys, for sticking it out. 4 stars b/c of the lighting's cooperation - as others have said, it was ON CUE. Unbelieveable.

first set was a lot of fun... 2nd set didn't match the energy as the performance never really reached a level of spectacular at any point. it's like they're mailing in that Playin' jam, 6 mins? kinda weak... UJB on further listen is sorta ho-hum... not the best one i've ever caught. spring '88 in Hampton was far better (again, these are out of the shows i've caught personally).

foolish heart/just a little light probably seemed like the ''built to last' LP set 2 opener' but it was a nice touch showcasing Brent; unfortunately this was rather generic 2nd set, the jams w/ the Nevilles are vastly overrated.

lots of fun in the rain, it was a dead show for crying out loud... it's a sin to rate these moments in time.

folks always speak of this show highly. like the 89 version of the rainy 83 merriweather post show( which was as wild as reputed--i was at that one). i think the first set is weird. like mickey is sort of lost on some tunes--esp music never stopped. i like the rainy hershey music never stopped much better. the band sounds distracted here at times.

Besides Mother Nature doing her thing, ripping post drums. Sugar Mags rocks. Atmosphere was surreal. Jerrys side, 1/2 way back, 20 rows up. Close to 20 years ago. Yikes

I was at this show also, and i was also one of the people that jumped onto the floor. About a 10 foot jump. I miss the smeel off BBQ grilles and trowing the football in the lot, riding my mountain bike with beers in my water bottle holder....oh the fun of those shows. I saw this one guy next to me on the floor which was covered with a tarp and there was big puddle of brown water. This guy was messed up and barfed right in the brown puddle of water, the next thing i know my buddy taps me on the shoulder. The same guy was drinking the brown water he barfed in....only at a dead show....great music and great times...i give it a 4.

the first night right when Shakedown started, it looked like a waterfall of people just pouring over the sides and onto the field and i recall security absolutely hammering whatever people they could get their hands on; yet the second night in the pouring rain security were helping people climb down the walls... bizarre but better late than never, eh?
i always seemed to get drenched at outdoor shows.

this show wasn't rippin' but it was definitely the best they sounded out of any previous Giants stadium shows... the night before ranged from 'eh-eh' to pretty pretty pretty good at times. since there's no half ratings this one's a **** when it's really about a ***1/2.

compared to the previous show's scorching temps, the torrential downpour was a welcome addition, even if John Sher thought we were all going to die.

****

perhaps it is the recording, which is a pretty poor matrix--the sound is dampened and hissy and low--but this is only so so. i was at this as well, and i remember at the time that it could not touch 7/2,4 or especially 7, and now listening to it, i still feel that way. but these things happen. the rfk shows were only okay as well. things improved greatly by alpine!

feel like a stranger is quite good, with jerry firing some sweet licks, but you'll notice he loses his way in franklins...and things don't really get back on track. I also think the foolish>just a little light is a let down...i know it was that night.

anyway, i usually blow sunshine, but 3 is the best i can do. no worse than average, but no better.

I was amazed at the synchronicity with Bobby's lyric during The Music Never Stopped and that actual lightning that occurred a few short seconds later...chills went up my spine and...women laugh and children scream, and the band keeps playin' on...truly a Grateful Dead moment...if you were there, you know how fucking trippy that moment was...my pack of Camels were drenched, but so WHAT?!? Flash on this show at all costs!

This was my first Dead show. When I saw hundreds of people surge over the opposite lower tier railing, (and secutity run over there) I grabbed my friends and we took a 20 foot plunge onto the field. We ran until we were immersed in the crowd about 30 rows back from the stage. I had always dug the Dead as a casual fan up until seeing this show. I "got it" right away. When it truly seemed that the lightning storm (With tornado warnings)was entirely in sync with the music (and the vibe) that sealed my fate as a deadhead. I'll always regret not "getting it" sooner but I'm be glad to be counted amongst the converted. My rating is far from objective relative to sound and set list as it was an amazing experience I'll never forget.

Today at 40 I follow a band called the Radiators who have a grown up deadhead like following. Check them out at a club near you as the play all over the country and have been together for 28 years. You won't be disappointed.
Jerry lives in my heart.

Well, in my opinion, this show doesn't hold up to the 7-9-89 night (or the majority of the other nights on this run). It's still very good, but it just lacks a little bit of energy that most of these 89 summer shows have LOTS of. I do LOVE the "you know your bound to wind up WET" line that Jerry pulls on TJed right after the rain starts during Masterpiece. Listen to the crowd ooh and ahh during the impending lightning storm throughout the rest of the set.

Overall a low 4 in my book.

This was the 5th and final show of our Dead Tour Honeymoon. It was a typical scorching hot and humid day in Northern NJ, with the haze that can only mean "thunderstorm". Part way through Set 1, it started to rain. The Dead played a "Music Never Stopped" like I have never before or since heard. It was incredible - by this time the rain was coming down in buckets and we could barely see the stage, and it was thundering and lightening. Everyone and everything was soaked, "but the band kept playin' on". One of the spookiest moments was right after Bobby sings the line "balls of lightnin' roll along", a lightening bolt actually hit one of the towers above the stadium. On the tape, you can hear the crowd let out a collective shreak of glee that comes in a weird place in the song. The jam at the end was AMAZING. Everyone was dancing like maniacs. When I listen to the tape of it in the car, I can't help but car-dance and yell "whoo!", it's THAT good. The rain began to subside as they segued into "Don't Ease". After Set 1, an announcer came on stage and begged people to clear the field b/c of the inclement weather. Later, we heard that funnel clouds had been spotted in the area. WOW! What a way to end our Honeymoon!!!

This show seemed to attract a lot of first timers, including me. I will never forget the experience. Does anyone have this show in a format for downloading? I'd love to have this show in my collection.

i remember these shows well... lots of action at giants for these shows. this night it rained, and many of us moved into the interior concourse to get away from the weather/cold. that's where, as i was sitting down with my poncho over my head to get warm, i was kicked in the ribs and told to "get f*ckin moving" by a security guard. i can remember thinking, "the end is near for all of this... too many people know the secret now".

of course, this is just a part of the great east coast summer '89 tour. from the boston lead up to the alpine creshendo, this was a really fun tour. was there for all of it... this night was big, bold, cold and little scary - ominous is the word i'd use.

the recording is a 3, performance a 4. wanna hear a better show, head on out to alpine valley just a few days later ;-)

This show changed my life. I was a confused 16 year old NJ kid looking for direction and I found it on this day. With the thousands of others I flowed over the rail from the first tear onto the floor. When I hit the floor 2 security guards grabbed me and said "say your sorry" so I said "i'm sorry" and they let me go to mess with someone else. Very trippy experience.

thank you so much for this...my first dead show. i remember the rain falling on my tripping-face like it was...well...several years ago. but what a life-changing experience. i sincerely thank whoever posted this for bringing me the night that changed my life.

So I wanna write the type of review that sends tingles down your spine. The Spinetingler89........... so we went down to the stadium early that day as I had never been to the likes of a dead show and my friends were eager to show what all the brewhaha was about. What I saw resembled a flea market on acid. Now I have been to flea markets and I have done acid but never Fleacid Market. Boy was I in for a life altering experience. My knowledge of the dead was a grestest hits cassette and whatever was being played on the classic rock stations, this was the middle of the whole touch of grey influx of people into the scene and there were folks of all strains present and accounted for. I would like to say we wandered around the lot and looked at all the freaks but I hardly recall much before we entered the stadium. A breif instance of ingesting some form of sacrament and a run in with my friends baseball cap that was really strange. The first of many strange things to come that evening.
We got inside before the show started and I remember all the people flowing over the walls onto the floor like water once the band started playing. I remember the rain- I also remember the undeniable electricity in the air- we were onto something beyond all our control and all you could do was hold on and smile. Somehow we made it down onto the floor and up into the sea of people and at one point we were ridiculously close to the stage. I remember how everyone knew the words to uncle johns band. The I sort of recall the encore and next thing I know we were in parking lot eating kind veggy pasta and trying to make sense of some paper that was not preferated. Yup life changed that evening and I have not looked at the world the same way.
Pretty cool to see this show up here. I forever had a really bad audience copy of the show and then about 5 years ago I got a videotape copy of the big screen feeds from that very show. It is the stuff that you would see up their in all its psychadelic glory. Anyone else ever see this video or is it somewhat under the radar? Its great quality and I have no idea where it originated. A friend who had not been to the show but collected all forms of media in a reckless manor came across it. Probably came out of NYC if I had to guess who who knows????????? I have the thing encoded into a mpg on my hardrive but never got around to mastering a dvd. 80+ shows later it all came to end. Miss that fat fucker!

I have been looking for this show for almost 11 years as it contains the post UJB jam that is featured on "Infrared Roses" album. What a beautifully sweet jam after such an amazing UJB. You must hear it, it is what GD were all about for me - a divine experience. I only wish they had explored post UJB territiry more often rather than just drop everything into drums as was all too often the case. Although it is GS with 65,000 plus fans, the boys sound cozy and comfortable and tight like they are playing for a few of their best friends. The guest appearance does not dissapoint. Sounds like they were playing together for years. Not muddied and muddled like alot of guest appearances. This show, 2nd set in particular must be enjoyed by all.

Over the top show...Does anyone remember John Sher saying to the whole stadium, "you're all going to die, get off the field.?" ...Outside on top of car was this big Jerry-lookin' guy..."It's what it's all about, havin' a good time..." Echoes through my mind today reminding me. Stranger-->Franklin's Tower and I thought the show must be about to end....haha. That night, things were happening at light years a second...Those in attendance this night know. Electri-city By Tennessee Jed, the downpour rain and lightning was scarily intense. Like at any minute, the whole place could be fried by a gazillion killowatt lighting blast...the band didn't seem to care...In fact they welcomed it..and almost seemed to egg it on in a innocent sort of way....This was the first of many times I realized how the Boys had the ability to control weather patterns. As the played Music Never, Jerry seemed to in control of this specific lightning storm. You know when they do a Don't Ease after a Music Never, it's a rockin' time. Fooish Heart was a different planet...Brent was telling us how it is w/Lil' Light..."Ain't nobody safer than someone who doesn't care." The Neville's coming out added mysticism to the night beyond recalled comparison.....This sound quality is a 4 star btw, but I hope you understand that being at this show 20th row with 80,000 people?
makes it 5 star for sure!

good show sound is a little off

My first show as well. Thanks.

A sticky Jersey night opened up by Los Lobos hot off their all too brief La Bamba skyrocket followed by what was to be the beginning of a long a beautiful friendship. Soaking rains, and thunder followed by a lovely crystal clear summer sky.

The quality is a bit hissy, but on the whole some lovely bubbling second set nuggets.

Thanks to all the folks out there bringing back beautiful memories and making these wonderful moments come alive. Right on.

Listening to this show w/headphones, you can hear the crack of lightning and the crowd going nuts. The 1st set has it's moments but there's a few too many vocal/instrumental flubs. 2nd set smokes. Nice recording, even with a few analog(?) gens layered on this download. Worthy!

I was at this one as well. The *'s are for the Neville Brothers who joined the band in the second set. I give it a picky 3 stars becauase the sbd is a bit hissy. Very very glad to have a copy of this one. ARCHIVE RULES!

This show changed my life ... I had no clue what I was hearing. I was familiar with album dead at the time and did not know a good portion of the tunes they were playing but when I realized that Bobby could call down lightning on demand(balls of lightning roll along) I became a DEAD Head forever!!!! I am so psyched it is finally up !!!!!

Iwas at this show and its a night i will never forget.It started raining around jack-a-roe or masterpiece, and as the rain got harder the music seemed to intensify.You can hear the crowd ohh and ahhh when lightning would hit.listen during Music Never Stopped at almost the perfect time balls of lightning and then crack the crowd goes nuts.then the dead say want us to turn this off,and the rain stopped breifly and as tennesse jed went on the rain came on strong again.A very magical night.

I was at this one.For some reason,the vibe was on the minute you walked into that concrete jugle(Giants stadium).I have never seen so much lightning in my life.I told my buddy that L.lightning would be nice.Never happened.The first note of stranger was so intense that people were jumping over the big blue wall that seperates the field form the seats.I remember seeing a guy jump and break his arm.As soon as the second set started,he was in a sling,dancin in the lightning storm!Only at a dead show!Now to the music.The first set was prety standard and well played.The second set was unexpected to say the least.Lightning,lightning lightning!John Sheir(promoter) comes on stage for a weather annoucment.Jer walks on slowly and looks up to sky!He gave this shaking head sort of expression and it was on!
Nice foolish opener,but an even better Just aliitle light.Thats right.Just a liitle light was smokin!!!The Nevllies joined them at the end of set.All in all,this show is worth the download!Sound quaity is an A-.Nice SBD.I taped the show,but the rain won that day!!!!
ENJOY!!!!!